An Unexpected Holiday
by catscradle2
Summary: Mara is alone on a trip shortly after her engagement to Luke when she encounters something unexpected.


****I kind of wrote this one for my wife (she likes romances - imagine that) and she said I could share this here too.

I'm just writing this for kicks and giggles and have no intent make any credits on Georgie's or Walt's stuff - and all that.

This might be AU - don't know - never read the books...lol

 **An Unexpected Holiday**

 **by**

 **Cat's Cradle**

Mara drifted slowly up through tantalizing dreams to the soft beeping of an alarm. She lay in her tiny bunk, on her stomach, fully clothed, and quite alone. The bunk smelled as it always did, of sterile ship air, not quite musty bedding, and a faint trace of thruster fuel. She cracked one eye fractionally open to look at the clock. It would soon be time to drop out of hyperspace and make ready to land on this next leg in her trade circuit. Years of training and experience had taught her to grab whatever sleep she could while falling through the trackless void between worlds. Even though this kind of sleep never left her feel truly refreshed, she was rested enough to function effectively. Right now however she felt even more out of sorts than normal because the last thing she wanted was to wake up finding herself alone.

Dreams, at least ones she remembered, were a rarity for her. She didn't really remember what the details of this most recent dream were, but she could tell by the fizzing in her veins what it had been about. Mara had been surprised at how much she had missed Luke on this trip. She hadn't thought that their recent engagement would change their relationship all that much, they had known each other for years after all. She was chagrinned though to discover that after all the time they had spent together in the caves, and on the journey home, that she had gotten use to having him around. She also caught herself subconsciously rushing this trip to get back sooner so she could be with him again, because she knew that their time together, upon her return, would be brief.

Despite her bubbling blood she also knew that it wasn't just the love making she missed. It was all the other little things that went along with having him near. Little things like waking up to find him next to her in bed, sharing a meal with good conversation, or just sitting together in the same room watching a program or reading. Even if she was in one room on the computer and he was in another tinkering with something – just the fact that they were close gave her a comfort that she had never experienced before. Well, she thought, the sooner she got this trip over with the sooner they could be together again.

With a sigh she rolled out of the bunk, pulled on her boots, and strode to the control room of her one-person ship. This had been a long trip so far and there were still several more stops left after this one.

The navi-computer checked out fine and everything was where it should be as she placed her hand on the switch and waited for the clock to count down to zero. Lines appeared and zoomed back to fill the void with stars as she pulled the lever. The next few minutes were spent scrambling for a proper landing while she swore to herself in 6 current languages and 2 dead ones. In her subconscious attempt to hurry the trip she had popped out much too close to the planet and now found herself apologizing to the local port authorities while her hands flew across the controls. The landing itself went as well as could be expected but now in addition to feeling not quite rested and unsatisfied, she could add feeling harried to the list.

This was most certainly not a good way to be walking into negotiations that she hoped would be over quickly. The folks on this world had called her several times to check and make sure that she was still on schedule. She presumed that this apparent eagerness meant that a favorable agreement could be reached rapidly and she could get on to her next appointment a little ahead of schedule.

She briefly toyed with the idea of calling Luke just to hear his voice, but a check of the chronometer that she kept in sync with their apartment on Coruscant showed a very early hour. He was probably asleep. She'd hoped that hearing his voice would improve her mood, but now it was – if at all possible – worse.

Well, she thought with a sigh, she'd better get started or else there would be no chance of wrapping this early. Putting on her most scrutable business face she placed a call to the office that had seemed so eager to get her here. Even though it was about two hours before local closing time she figured it might just be possible to make some good headway this evening. With a little luck she could even close the deal and get under way before the port closed for the night on this somewhat out of the way world.

A very young female face belonging to the secretary for her client answered her call. "Good afternoon Ms. Jade," she began brightly, "how may I assist you?"

In any other situation Mara would have assumed that this barely 20 year old girl served as little more than an appealing window decoration or perhaps a party favor for a lecherous owner. In this case however the beautiful face held a fierce intelligence and a shrewd mind that Mara knew would serve this girl very well in the job for which her boss was grooming her.

"Good afternoon Lyndell, is your mother in?" Mara asked. Lyndell's mother, Majori, was also Mara's client, a no nonsense lady that brokered some of the finest and rarest wines in the galaxy. The wines themselves were produced on this very world in a region with vineyards that were reported to predate the Jedi. Mara had the good fortune to have earned Majori's respect as a reputable trader and had secured exclusive rights for the distribution of her products. Lando had been beside himself when he lost the contract to her and hadn't spoken to Mara for six months. Mara had been searching for a way to duplicate that coup ever since.

Lyndell's expression flashed tense for the tiniest fraction of a second before returning to her normal bright and efficient manner. "Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Jade," she replied "but Mother was just – um – well – kidnapped by Father so she's not in at the moment."

Mara blinked. For someone who's Mother had been just been kidnapped this girl seemed remarkably casual. "I'm terribly sorry to hear this," she replied. "Is there anything I can do to assist the authorities in helping to get her back safely?" Mara knew from Luke that this world had a long and trusting relationship with the Jedi but that certain protocols needed to be followed.

Lyndell's expression showed puzzlement for a moment before bursting into a wide grin. Mara was getting a bad feeling about this. "Oh, I guess I didn't say that very well." The girl laughed. "You know that tomorrow is Sweetheart's Day right?" Mara hadn't. "I can imagine how you might forget that on such a long trading run." Actually, Mara had never given Sweetheart's Day much thought since she had never had a sweetheart to worry about before, at least not until now. "Anyway," the girl continued a bit conspiratorially "Mother was hoping you would get in this afternoon so she could work out the latest consignment before the holiday tomorrow, but Dad had other ideas."

"Other ideas?" Mara asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. She was getting a _very_ bad feeling about this.

"Yes." Lyndell replied now sporting a hint of a blush. "Dad came in here and took her away for this evening and I'm assuming tomorrow as well. He had her at blaster point too. At least it looked like a real blaster. Anyway, Mom was blindfolded and grinning from ear to ear. I'm trying not to think too much about what that might imply. It's a bit disconcerting thinking about ones folks that way, even if it is really romantic." She was blushing brightly now.

"Kidnapped…" was all Mara managed. Her stomach was headed rapidly in the direction of her boots.

"Don't worry though," the girl reassured as her professional demeanor began to return. "Dad whispered that he would have her back home by tomorrow evening. I also know that Mom made room in her schedule for the day after the holiday in case you were detained. It's a good thing that she did too, because the next two weeks she has appointments up in the wine country selecting vintages for next fall."

Mara closed her eyes and used nearly all her reserve as a Jedi to calm herself. She knew that there was not enough time to go somewhere else and come back with Majori's schedule only open the day after Sweetheart's Day. She swore silently to herself in the vaults of her mind. It looked like she was grounded on this planet for tomorrow and the next day as well. So much for getting ahead of schedule. The window of time she would have with Luke was getting shorter and her fuse was shortening right along with it. Well, Mara could not let this young beauty out do her in the emotional control department, so with great effort she calmly replied "Well, I hope they have fun. Please advise your mother that I will be at her office first thing on the day after tomorrow unless I hear otherwise."

"Yes Ms. Jade." Lyndell replied and made to ring off, but paused as she read something out of eyeshot. "Oh, and Ms. Jade?" she added.

"Yes."

"Mother asked me to make arrangements for a place for you to stay while she was in custody. It's all at our expense and while she realizes that this cannot make up for the delay, she hopes that it will at least make your stay a little more enjoyable." Lyndell held a look of mild apprehension and apology. Mara bit back a sharp response. This delay would put Majori at a disadvantage when it came time to discuss this next consignment. She realized that if she were to spurn this gesture of good will she would lose some of her advantage. She also found a deep envy building within herself for her client. Majori seemed to have achieved an interesting balance between business and family. Something that Mara would need to learn now too – as would Luke.

The girl was expecting an answer. Normally Mara stayed on her ship, in order to keep expenses to a minimum, unless the client was a long way from the port, which was not the case here. Not wanting to seem rude though she replied pleasantly, "I really appreciate the offer and I would normally take you up on it, however, there are some minor repairs I would like to make to the ship. If you don't mind, I'll stay here and see what I can accomplish tomorrow." There. That should satisfy social pleasantries. If Luke had been along it would have been fun to see what Majori would have provided. She was reputed to treat her clients royally when such a need arose.

"I understand completely Ms. Jade." Lyndell was saying. "Let me give you a contact number anyway though. You may finish repairs early or want a change of pace. I'll have the reservation left open and will instruct the front desk to make whatever arrangements you require if you change your mind." The message console flashed indicating that the contact information had been received. Ever the professional this girl. She would certainly fill her Mother's shoes quite well some day.

Mara thanked her and rang off. Disappointment settled over her like a wet blanket. The repairs were indeed minor and could easily wait for her to get back to Coruscant. Not being really hungry or particularly tired, Mara opened the hatch and went out to make an inspection before starting on the repairs. It was always good policy to have a look at the ship for damage or signs of impact after touchdown. She had only made it part way through the inspection when two stern looking port agents, a man and a woman, came striding up to her.

"You are the captain of this ship?" asked the woman in a professional manner.

"Yes." Mara replied cautiously as the man noted something on the pad he was carrying. Someone might be coming to reprimand her for popping out of hyperspace so close to the planet.

"Very good. What is your crew complement?"

"Just me," she replied.

"Excellent. It's good that we caught up with you here. We've been trying to hail you for the past ten minutes." The woman commented politely. The man continued to make notes.

"I've been out here doing a post landing inspection." Mara explained.

"Of course," said the woman. "But we need to know that everyone has been alerted before the port is evacuated. We wouldn't want to have anyone returning to get supplies or the like and find their access delayed for a full day."

The port was being evacuated? "Excuse me?" Mara asked. This sounded very odd.

The man, without looking up from his pad, finally spoke. His manner was bored and it sounded like he was reading from a script. "We need to do a through decontamination of the facility. Regrettably it has become infested with Obkel mice that arrived on a recent shipment of grain from the same system. We will be closing the port shortly, activating a force dome, and pulling a complete vacuum. The port will be under vacuum for the entire holiday tomorrow. For safety reasons we cannot allow anyone to remain aboard their ships during the procedure in case of a medical emergency. This is standard policy." Mara wondered how many times he had read this today. She didn't pity him, but it was pretty clear that there would be no arguing with them either.

"You have about an hour before you need to clear out," said the woman apologetically as she dropped some of her official demeanor. "The port has made arrangements at a local boarding house for you if you like, but these are very minimal accommodations." She looked askance at her companion who still had his nose buried in his pad, motioned to Mara to come closer and dropped her voice so that only Mara could hear. "If it were me, I'd look for something else. The place that they booked has a very dodgy reputation and a female will probably have trouble there." Mara made to object but the woman raised her hand and she held her tongue. "Look, I can tell you're a gal who can take care of herself. I use to be a single pilot too. I could tough out that place if I had to, but only if it was the sole option. I'm not suppose to say this, but the port will compensate you for the difference if you choose to stay somewhere else."

Mara backed away and thought a moment. "Actually, my client has already made arrangements for me. I was planning to stay to do some work on the ship, but I guess that will have to wait. Good luck with the decontamination," she said in acknowledgement.

The man spoke again with the same bored tone as before. "Please be out of the port by 1900 local. Please seal your ship for space to protect any internal equipment or goods as the port will be under hard vacuum for an extended period of time. The port will re-open at 0600 local time the day after the official holiday."

"Which holiday is that sir?" Mara asked. She already knew the answer, but couldn't resist doing something to drag this bureaucrat out of his official world. Besides, she had to take her frustration out on someone.

He finally looked up from his pad holding an expression of mild disgust. "That would be Sweethearts Day, Captain."

His companion gazed back at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Oh knock it off Charlie. I know you have a surprise for your wife tomorrow. You've been talking about it for weeks." Charlie gave her a sour glance before putting his nose back into his pad and started to walk off to the next landing pad. "Don't pay any attention to him Captain. He likes to put on that crusty exterior but I know he has a soft spot for his family. He just doesn't want to let the riff raff around here know he has a soft side at all. Have a good holiday and sorry for the inconvenience." With that she hurried after her associate.

Mara watched her go. Things kept getting worse and worse. Maybe the Sweetheart gods were trying to punish her for being away from Luke. She clumped her way back up the gangway and went back to the message center to call the contact left for her by Lyndell.

The woman who answered was an elderly lady with a kind face. She brightened the moment Mara said who she was. "Oh yes my dear. Lyndell said you might still come to stay with us. Are you still at the port?" Mara nodded. "All right dear. I'll have transportation for you there within 10 minutes unless you need it later."

"No, that will be fine." Mara told her.

The old lady told her the name of the transport company to watch for, waved goodbye and broke contact. By the time she had collected her necessary items, sealed and secured the ship, and walked to the pick up point, the transport was waiting for her. The transport turned out to be a droid-operated limousine and Mara was the only passenger. Very opulent. Majori was clearly going to great lengths to try to regain some advantage with her for the delay.

The limo rose smoothly into the air and sped away from the port and the city center at high altitude and speed. "The ride will take about 20 minutes miss," explained the droid. "Please relax and enjoy the view. This vehicle is equipped with a small bar if you would like a beverage or snack during the journey."

The length of the trip surprised her since she knew that there were very nice accommodations within the port city. Well, her host had never let her down on any of their previous deals so Mara decided to take a page out of Luke's book and let the moment unfold. She wasn't in the mood for a drink just yet so she settled back and watched the terrain slide by below her. The limo first flew across a wide bay surrounded by low hills and local dwellings.

Upon reaching the far shore of the bay, the dwellings gradually gave way to agriculture as the Limo swept up a river delta, then up a broad valley guarded by low, rugged, and tree covered mountains. Her ride began to drop lower and it became clear that the agriculture was all given over to wine production. Mara wondered if this was the area where Majori acquired her products. The valley began to narrow and soon she was looking at rolling hills covered with vineyards as far as she could see. Here and there very old mansions and wineries were nestled among the vines. The place gave the appearance that it had been this way for a very long time, almost as if vineyards and buildings had grown up from the ground on their own and that humans had come later to harvest the bounty that grew there. The place seemed especially bright with the Force and Mara felt a stab of regret that she didn't have Luke with her to share this with.

The limo dropped down and landed beside an ancient cottage built of native stone and tucked away on a hillside overlooking the vineyards below. The door to the limo opened and her senses were assailed by a woodsy aroma scented lightly with the sweet smell of mustard plants growing amongst the vines. Tall and stately trees grew on the slopes that rose above the dwelling and Mara could hear and see local songbirds twittering and flitting about the branches.

An old man was striding out of the front entryway toward the limo. He was about her height with silver hair and a neat goatee and seemed to move quite easily despite his apparent age.

"Good Afternoon," he said in a deep rumbling voice. "You must be Ms. Jade. Lyndell didn't tell me that we would be hosting a beauty such as you my dear."

"Oh for Force sake Barky, leave the poor girl alone," came a new voice that Mara had heard before. It belonged to the old woman she had spoken to earlier, and who now was hurrying out to where they stood. She was a little plump and only came up to Barky's shoulder but clearly commanded his respect as he moved back a step and quieted immediately. "Come on old man, get her bags and take them to her room for her."

"Yes dear," Barky said as if he had been a small boy caught in the act of a minor transgression by his mother. Taking Mara's shoulder bag he hurried off. Mara blinked in surprise.

"Don't mind my husband dear," said the old woman. "He's just like a dog that chases transports. Wouldn't know what to do with one if he caught it."

Despite her sullen mood, Mara had to laugh. Her Jedi intuition told her that these two had been together and committed to each other for a very long time.

The matron extended her hand in greeting and said, "I'm Jaspa and am pleased to welcome you dear. My daughter doesn't often send her business associates here unless they are very special indeed. I'm sure you are probably tired, so I'll just take you to your room and give you a tour of the place later if you like."

"Actually, I'm not all that tired, just little harried. It's been a long trip. I think a short walk around this place in some fresh air would do me some good after being cooped up in a ship for so long." Mara had been fascinated by the appearance of this place as they had approached it from the air, and she really was not looking forward to being stuck inside just yet.

"Fine dear. I love showing folks around this place," Jaspa replied. "It's been in our family for more generations than I can count." She began showing Mara around the grounds all the while she explained how this cottage was a guesthouse built originally for visiting dignitaries. "You can just see the main house, where we live, down the hill just there." She said pointing to a much larger stone building about half a kilometer down the hill at the edge of the vineyards. "That's the headquarters for our winery too and we manage all the land from here, across the valley and up the hill to the line of trees on mountain over there." The distance was easily ten kilometers.

Jaspa seemed to radiate a kindly aura that exuded utter confidence with herself and her surroundings. It was as if her spirit was molded to this place and the place to her. Mara quickly found herself being lulled into dropping her guard around this woman. Though she had never known her family, Mara felt that Jaspa was just the type of person she would have wanted for a grandmother and found herself quickly falling under her spell. It wasn't long before Mara was telling Jaspa about her recent engagement, how she was feeling really depressed when she realized she would be spending Sweetheart's day here by herself, and frustrated that it would still be several more weeks of travel before she saw Luke again.

"That's a shame dear," Jaspa said. "Barky and I have had our share of missed holidays too, especially during the war. It never is fun to be away from a loved one at those times. Why don't you plan to spend your day tomorrow with us down at the main house. I know we can't replace your fiancé, but we'll do our best to keep your mind off the day."

Mara was grateful for this and agreed to meet them in the morning after getting assurances from Jaspa that she would not be ruining their plans. The tour continued into the cottage. It had a kitchen, a living room with thick rug and fireplace, several smaller bedrooms for children when families stayed here, and a cozy master bedroom that included a separate sitting area.

"There is a large patio through those doors," Jaspa indicated transparent sliders along one wall of the bedroom. Mara looked through the doors and saw a flagstone deck with a rock walled pool to one side. Water gurgled out of the pool and into a rocky channel that fell away down the hill. "That pool is fed from a mineral hot spring just up the hill. It's either great for looking at the night sky whilst having a soak at night or a delightful way to relax before going to sleep. Oh, and over here is the fresher."

The fresher was well appointed and had it's own tub which was full of steaming water. "I asked Barky to get that filled for you. Figured you could use a hot soak after a long journey dear."

Mara looked around feeling very alone indeed. Here she was surrounded by all this peaceful beauty, not to mention the opportunity for romance and Luke was light years away. She almost wished that she had stayed in the dive by the port. She might not feel the loneliness so acutely there.

"Thank you Jaspa. This place is lovely and you and Barky are wonderful hosts. It's just…" her voice caught and she couldn't finish.

Jaspa came over and did something that Mara rarely allowed from someone to whom she had just met. She took Mara in her arms and hugged her. Mara welcomed the gesture, feeling for all the world like a small child. "There, there dear. Take it from someone as old as me, you will be back together with him before you know it. Now why don't you get in that tub and have a good long soak. I'll have some dinner sent up from our kitchen in about an hour or so. That way you don't need to cook. Please join us for breakfast tomorrow and we'll take you to some really good wineries for some sampling."

Mara gave her a wan smile and thanked her again.

After Jaspa and Barky headed down the hill, she went back into the bedroom, stripped off, and slipped into the steaming water. It did help her to feel a little better, but she really was not looking forward to an unproductive day tomorrow. Jaspa was sweet and fun to talk with, but Mara just wanted to be home now and not anywhere else.

She had not been in the tub for more than what seemed like ten minutes when the scrumptious aroma of food found her nostrils. It could not possibly have been an hour yet. She reached out with her senses and felt a faint and indistinct presence in the bedroom.

A chill swept over her despite the steaming water as she realized that she had left her clothes and weapons in the bedroom. Then she spied a robe hanging on the back of the door, so quiet as an Obekl mouse she slid out of the water and wrapped herself in the robe. She cracked the door open a fraction. The bedroom was empty but she could hear noises coming from the unseen sitting room.

Keeping herself out of view she stole into the bedroom and called her saber from her pile of clothes across the room. It was then that she noticed that the bed had been turned down and the sheets were covered in flower pedals which perfumed the air with a heady aroma.

Puzzled, she peeked around the edge of the jam that separated the bedroom from the sitting area. There in the middle of the room was a food cart laden with a meal fit for royalty. Nerf steaks marinated and perfectly grilled just to her liking. Fresh steamed vegetables, a bottle of local red wine that she knew probably cost a small fortune on Coruscant, and a tempting dessert for later. And sitting on the divan, in a robe of his own, sat Luke.

"Happy Sweetheart's day sweetheart," he said grinning at her.

Mara dropped the saber and her jaw all in the same instant. "Luke!? How?..." It wasn't often that she was caught speechless.

"Oh, I set this up weeks and weeks ago when I saw your trip schedule. See, I knew Barky from the war. Best rogue mechanic we…ooof."

But by this time Mara had strode quickly over to the divan, grabbed Luke by the collar of his robe, pulled him up to stand next to her, gazed intently into his blue eyes and said, "Tell me later. Kiss me now!"

Luke needed no further encouragement. The kiss deepened very quickly and it wasn't long before both robes were open and skin molded against quivering skin. Mara broke the kiss reluctantly and looked wistfully at the wonderful food. Despite the delightful smells coming from the cart she wasn't really hungry for _that_ just now. Picking up on her thoughts, Luke slipped a hand from beneath her robe, reached over and pressed a stud on the food tray. A small stasis field instantly enveloped the feast. "That should keep it warm for quite a while." His breathing sounded as ragged she felt. Smiling brightly he swept her slender frame into his arms and carried her off to the pedal strewn bed.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Mara drifted slowly up through languid dreams to the soft beeping of an alarm. She lay in soft sheets mingled with flower pedals, on her stomach, naked, and quite definitely not alone. A warm hand rested _very_ low on the small of her back. The bed smelled of fresh linens, fragrant flowers, along with a faint trace of sex. She cracked one eye fractionally open to look at the clock. It was still in the tiny hours. The last guest probably needed an early wake up call. She felt comfortably sated and more rested than she could ever remember. Later they would both take their time touring the local wineries and food shops and enjoy their first Sweetheart's day together.

But not right now.

Using the Force to silence the alarm, she shifted slightly to snuggle closer to Luke and slowly drifted back down to sleep.


End file.
